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Iron Man 3 a winning film, despite some flaws

With Iron Man 2, I said that I believed that when making a sequel to any film, it should surpass the original. The story should present something different and new to the audience. The look of the film should be fresh and present something bigger in the design. In all rights, it is supposed to be better and larger in dynamics.

Iron Man 2 achieved all those things, out-performing the original, and now Iron Man 3 has come and in several ways surpassed the first two films. Still, it manages to give this critic an unsatisfied feeling.

This go round, Stark finds his personal world destroyed at the hands of new enemies — the Mandarin and new tech rival, Aldrich Killian. At every turn, his mettle is tested as Stark sets out to stop this new threat. With his back against the wall, he is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him.

As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

I’m going to hit the nitty-gritty first and get out what I don’t like about the third installment to the Iron Man franchise. I have to start with the Mandarin. Growing up reading the comics, one of my favorite Iron Man villains was the Mandarin, because he was always so adversely strong against Stark and his metal creations. It’s a character that deserves a great presentation on film.

Now I understand that with an adaptation that I have to give a measure of leeway to a film’s reinterpretation of the character and I was completely ready to do that, but there is a line in the sand that must be drawn when things go so off course from the source material that the character becomes lost. Shane Black (the director/co-writer) and co-writer Drew Pearce spend the first half reinventing the Mandarin successfully only to destroy their own work and reduce him to a mere joke. This series, in the hands of former director Jon Favreau, for the most part stayed true to the comics, but this go round the film strays from it.

Outside of the flaws of the story’s villain, my other complaints are smaller. For most of the film, Stark is barely in the Iron Man suit, which is supposed to further support the subtext and theme of the film. That’s a good thing, but people don’t pay over $10 for a film called “Iron Man” to see Tony Stark trotting around without the suit. My last real complaint is that the script, though providing a worthy story, is often inflated too much with jokes. Give your story room to breathe instead of relying on an excessive amount of comedy to sell the film.

Now you are probably thinking that I hate this film, but that’s not the case. In many ways, Iron Man 3 truly outshines its predecessors. The story and the handling of the characters are engaging, for the most part. The action sequences are top notch, outperforming the last installment and giving a fun thrill ride. Downey, as always, is electrifying and reminds us why he is the best for the role.

Overall, Iron Man 3 delivers as one of Marvel’s best films. It isn’t without a couple of major flaws, but this won’t matter much to the masses as long as Downey uses his ability to whip out wisecracks with scrupulous timing.